Go figure. I delivered arrived at my destination to deliver the freight (early) and was unloaded by my appointment time. So, the note on the QualComm about drivers being on their best behavior since unload times could be prolonged didn't make much sense. It must have been an older note.
I arrived back at the terminal in Marshfield by 7:15 AM and did not hear from my dispatcher for an hour. I would think that good dispatchers would notify drivers as soon as the driver's unloaded call was received by the dispatcher via the QualComm. A message like "OK--working on your next load" would at least give an indication that the dispatcher is for sure aware that you are ready and waiting for the next load. Perhaps it company policy to keep drivers in the dark as to when their next load assignment will be ready. In fairness to my company, many times drivers will get a pre-plan for their next load while on the way to delivering their current load. However, when that doesn't happen, it just doesn't make sense to keep drivers wondering as to when their next load assignment will appear. I for one would like to know it may be awhile before my load assignment. Then I could plan accordingly (take a nap, do some wash, etc.).
A week ago, a recruiter called my wife and mentioned a trucking job I might be interested in. The more I heard, the more I liked. So, after carefully weighing my options, I made the decision to go with another trucking carrier. The primary reason for doing so was more miles (more miles = more pay). However, I'll also be getting a better cents-per-mile pay scale. A secondary reason is that on top of more miles and more pay, I'll be home on weekends. I've let my various fleet managers know that I wanted more miles per week. However, nothing happened. In fact, when I signed aboard as a national driver (out 2-weeks; then home for 2-3 days), I was told that was the way to go for receiving more miles. However, another driver I spoke with mentioned that you could actually get more miles by being regional (being home every weekend). I'm not sure what to think anymore and that's why I'm going to another trucking carrier. Heck, I also just remembered that I talked to a driver who started a few months before I did and was averaging 3,000 miles per week on a national route. Why haven't I been offered the same amount of miles? I would think that a trucking company would want to maximize the profitability of a driver that is at the lowest pay scale. Since I want the miles, both the company and I benefit from the arrangement. What doesn't make sense is when a company doesn't maximize the use of their employees--especially when a new driver has had previous industry experience like I've had.
So, later on in the afternoon, I made the call to human resources and my fleet manager informing them that this Friday would be my last day with the company. It was a hard call to make. Mr. K. tried briefly to convince me to rethink my decision. However, I'm confident that I'm making the right decision. I told Mr. K that perhaps in the future I'd be back with this company--one never knows for sure about what the future holds. Mr. K will route me up to Marshfield this Friday so that I can turn in the truck and all the stuff that belongs to the company. I wouldn't be surprised if I hear a final offer from the company to try and keep me on board. I don't blame them for trying. Hey--I'm a high quality driver! (grin) After finishing the call with Mr. K, I called the orientation coordinator at the other company to get the details for my 3-day orientation starting next Monday.
After getting my load assignment earlier in the day, I made my way to the shipper and picked it up (it was relatively close by) and made my way to fuel in Gary, IN to my final destination in Chillicothe, OH. Everything was going fine except for the major truck accident that happened in the early afternoon where I-290 and 355 connect (a truck apparently missed a ramp on 355--the tractor smashed into the retaining wall, the trailer became unhooked and sailed over the wall hitting a car, and the cab section of the tractor unit also sailed over the wall). The result was that nearly all traffic from 355 was routed onto I-290 which really tied up traffic heading eastbound (the way I was headed). The local drivers suggested a route around the congested area over the CB and I decided to take it. Even though I saved time by taking it, I did lose an hour of driving time due to the accident. However, I still made it out of Chicago before rush hour began in earnest (Later, while driving to Indianapolis, I heard on the radio that they were still cleaning up that accident scene and traffic was still very congested).
In Indianapolis, my vehicle inspection revealed that I had a flat tire on the trailer (happened between Gary and Indianapolis). The garage at the truck stop was busy so I decided to get the paperwork done but have them fix it in the morning. Otherwise they were going to call me on my cell phone (probably wake me up out of a sound sleep) and let me know that they were ready to fix it. I also didn't desire going through the experience of finding that no parking spaces were available (once the tire was fixed) and then having to make my own parking spot in the lot only to be wakened in the morning to and asked to move the truck to a properly designated parking spot (my recent Nashville experience). No thank you. I'll hold on to my parking spot until the morning!
The night dispatcher rescheduled the load so that I would be there later tomorrow morning so that's one less thing I need to worry about tomorrow morning. Time to catch some zzz's.
miles driven = 457
8:18:15 AM
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